


Not so Easy

by AbbyGibbs



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Pregnancy Scares, R&R, Romance, Wheelchairs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-25 21:58:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6211789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbbyGibbs/pseuds/AbbyGibbs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <a href="http://www.servimg.com/view/11914896/956"></a>
  <img/>
</p><p> </p><p>What if not being pregnant, wasn't so difficult to forget, after all? Sometime you think you have dismissed and unexpected event makes you realized you didn't burry your thoughts about it as deep as you thought, sequel to Chirugal's Three Minutes. Rating might change</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: Huge hugs to Chirugal, who allowed me to write this as a follow-up to her story "Three Minutes" a fic I love by the way, but some pieces annoyed me so I talked to her about it and asked if I could write a little something and she said YES! So you'll better go read "Three Minutes" first. (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5396106/1/Three-Minutes)  
> Amy, I hope this will apply to your standards. 
> 
> Thanks to Mark Harmon, Pauley Perrette, Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo, Sean Murray, David McCallum and all the other for giving life to the wonderful characters of NCIS.  
> Thanks, Laci as always.
> 
> Thanks to all my fellow readers, you guys are the best.
> 
> Feedback: well, I'd love them, of course – who wouldn't? But please, only if you respect my work because it takes a lot of time and energy to get a story together. I love writing; I wouldn't allow anyone to discourage me from doing so, never. I don't have any problems at all with readers who choose not to go for this, but I decidedly do with those who write disrespectful mails just because they didn't get the ending they would have wanted. If you want to tell me what I might have done better within the story I made up, you're always very welcome to let me know. But if your only concern is to rant about it, then please, do it in private, okay? Thank you.  
> But those who like it drop a review, please!

Sitting on her kitchen floor, cell phone in hand, Abby stares at something in front of her. _I should have told him then, I shouldn't have played the relieved one_. _How could I imagine for one second that, this wouldn't affect me?_ She sighed as the thoughts ran through her mind.

A single tear rolled down, her right cheek.

Looking down at her cell phone, Abby pressed a digit and the number dialed automatically.

"DiNozzo, I'm listening."

"Tony, it's me, Abby,"

"Abby? Is everything, okay?" Tony asked instantly concerned at the sound of her voice, it was so small and sad, he'd barely recognized it.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Tony, but could you tell Gibbs, I won't be coming in today, please?"

Tony frowned at what Abby asked him to do. Something wasn't right. Abby called him from time to time to help her solve a dilemma or tell him something, she was like the sister he never had, but this, he knew, was different.

When Abby had a serious problem like it seems to be right now, she'd have turned to Gibbs and now even more that they were a couple. So if she had called him instead of their boss it could only mean two things:

One: Gibbs wasn't there or two: her problem involved Gibbs and seeing that Gibbs was sitting at his desk... Mama Mia! This meant trouble, Tony sighed.

"I'm coming over."

"I'm fine, Tony, really, you don't have to..."

"I'm coming over, Abbs, no discussion. I'll be there in thirty minutes, I'll tell, Gibbs, something urgent came up, and then you can tell me what's bothering you." He told her before ending the conversation to be sure Abby couldn't protest.

Now Tony's immediate concern was how he would tell Gibbs that he needed a couple of hours off for personal matters, and that Abby wouldn't be coming in today, without him being fired and his boss rushing to Abby? That would, no doubt in his mind, be the most difficult part of the entire situation.

DiNozzo was convinced that a good listening ear and a huge hug would do the trick. He smiled at that, but the smile on his lips rapidly disappeared when he replayed their conversation in his head, and his heart filled up with sadness, it wasn't really the conversation they'd had, but the tone of her voice that suddenly made him feel uneasy. Maybe his friend's problem was more serious that he thought it was.

Tony was parking in front of Abby's place, thirty minutes later like he had told her. How he had managed to convince Gibbs to let him go, that was still a mystery to him, but the most important was that he would now be able to talk his friend.

On the way to Abby, Tony could help but wonder never since he had known that his boss and best friend were a couple, had she skip work. Not even when he knew that they have had words with each other.

No, it must be something bigger - definitely bigger - DiNozzo doubted that it had something to do with Gibbs not wanting to marry her, because he knew Abby wasn't fond of the all thing either, if you really love one another, a paper or even a church wouldn't change anything about it - even though Abby went to church.

As he exited his car, he saw that the building door was open, something that could happen, though not very often. Passing through the open doors, he took the stairs to the second floor where Abby's apartment was located.

Tony knocked softly on her door and waited until she opened it a few seconds later. The agent's eyes widened slightly at the sight before him, Abby wasn't looking well at all, he could see she'd been crying and seeing her puffy red rimmed eyes, he could tell, she'd been crying for quite some time.

Abby barely looked at him, she almost immediately turned around and went back to the couch she'd been sitting on, before she got up, to open the door for her visitor. Tony watched her carefully while following her inside, and after he'd closed the door behind him, he came to take a seat next to her, saying nothing.

He waited silently. He waited until she's ready to talk, which she managed to do after, five long minutes. Tony was starting to get worried in the very uncomfortable silence that was hanging heavily all over the apartment.

"I thought I could, but..." Abby started, but her voice trailed off as she broke down in tears.

DiNozzo instantly put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, placing a kiss on the top of head like Gibbs would have done if it had been him.

"Ssssh, Abbs, Ssssh." He soothed her, rubbing her back softy with his other hand.

"I can't, I...just... I can't..." She kept repeating through her sobs.

"What are you talking about, Abbs, what can't you do?" Tony asked in a very soft and carrying voice.

The NCIS forensic scientist sobbed for a little while longer, before she seemed to calm down, enough, to be able, to give an answer to Tony's question.

"I can't act as if nothing happened, three months ago." She finally said in a complete - not broken by sobs - full sentence.

Tony pulled back a little to look down at her, his expression puzzled.

"What happened, three months ago, Abby?"

"Gibbs and I... we thought, I thought..." She trailed off and, sighed heavily.

Abby Sciuto took a few deep breaths before she continued, "I thought, I might be pregnant." She finally let out.

Tony was too surprised, to answer anything at first. Of all the possibilities, he had thought of that might have caused Abby's problem, not a single one, involved a possible pregnancy. There was no doubt in his mind that Abby would be a great mother, because when there were children involved in cases, she worked even harder to help them solve it, and if they had to bring them in for protection or anything else, once the children met the forensic expert, they all loved her.

No, the real question was if Gibbs would want any other children after so many years. DiNozzo wasn't so sure about that one. Of all the pains their boss had suffered from, the pain of losing his daughter was still very much present today. The proof of this was, the way he reacted when someone hurt a child or did even something worse to them.

Maybe the thought of being a father again frightened him. The memory of it was maybe something too painful for him or maybe it wasn't the idea of being a father that scared him the most. Maybe, the thought of being a father brought back the fear that something might happened to the child or that he might lose it again, that might be one of the possible explanations. However, those were only possibilities, ideas he had. Tony didn't really know anything after all.

Had his friends, planned, talked about it. Having a family wasn't something that happened just like that. Well it could happen, but even then you have to think about the implication. Once you know there is going to be one more person that's going to depend on you for everything, you can't just snap your finger and go the other way around.

Had it been a accident?

Even then, Tony couldn't see the problem because it would be a part of Gibbs and Abby and that would definitely be something. They loved each other so much, even though they tried to hide it, for someone who really knew them it was easy to see...

Under his rough carapace, Gibbs had a big heart. The man loves kids, and they seem to love him in return.

After a moment, Anthony DiNozzo got over the primary shock, of the news, and asked her softly to tell him what had exactly happened.


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs was fuming inwardly, he had let Tony go, against his instincts, he said it had something to do with a personal matter about his father, he had sounded convincing, but Gibbs's gut was telling him that something wasn't right. Tony and his father weren't exactly getting along like a father and a son should have been. Thinking about it again, something bothered Gibbs. Something was definitely not right.

And why wasn't Abby coming in today? She hadn't said anything to him this morning.

 _Gibbs you're getting old_. He thought to himself.

He could have slapped himself for even thinking that. It usually meant that his gut was telling him something was about to happen pretty soon. Lots of people would call that a sixth sense. He himself didn't really know if what he felt with his gut was a sixth sense, he would have rather said that it was the experience and training that made in a Marine and nothing more.

But being a Marine didn't allow him, to calm himself down, right now. Gibbs felt edgy for some reason and he hated it.

He should have forbid Tony to go on whatever personal business he had to fix and should've gone to check on Abbs, that what he should have done.

 _How the hell could he think that he should've forbidden to go on a personal matter while he himself wanted to go and see Abby._ Gibbs wanted to go back home and talk to her, see why she hadn't come to work... she hadn't made any mention of feeling sick or anything... _What was going on then?_

_Why don't you talk to me, Abbs?_

NCIS special agent Ziva David was sitting at her desk typing some stuff on her keyboard to fine some info on a Lieutenant Hanson Moore, in hope, to locate him to interrogate him, but so far without any success, if she couldn't find anything in the next half hour, she'd asked, McGee, for some help.

Looking up, she glanced over at her superior and frowned when she saw him lost in thoughts, a sight she wasn't really used to. She smiled thinking that everyone could be lost in thoughts even Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Ziva was about to focus her attention back on the task she was performing before she had looked up for a minutes when she noticed that her partner in crime, special agent Anthony DiNozzo wasn't sitting at his desk. She looked around to see if she could spot him somewhere, but she couldn't see him anywhere.

Surprised she looked over at her other colleague's desk. Timothy McGee was there, sitting behind his desk, like he was supposed to, feeling her eyes on him, McGee looked up, but shook his head negatively, when he read the question in her eyes, he didn't know either what was going on. From what he remembered, Tony had showed up this morning, then he had seen him talk with Gibbs and had left in some kind of a hurry, but now that he was thinking about it, he hadn't seen Tony coming back in yet.

Something was definitely going on.

They both saw, their boss stand up then, and head to the elevator, both guessing he would go down to go and see Abby, little did they know that, their friend wasn't in her lab today.

The only person Gibbs could think about talking to, right now, was Ducky so he pressed the button in the elevator that would lead the metal cabin to the floor where the morgue was located.

At Abby's place, Tony had taken off his jacket and had poured them both some water in two glasses before taking a seat in the couch next to her. He waited for her to talk to him, he didn't want to push her, the matter seemed to some kind of serious, so he waited wordless until she would be ready and talk to him about what was going on.

After she finally did, pieces started to get together, and he was starting to understand her, slightly strange behavior, on the case they were working on. It must have been the trigger that brought the memories back of what they had experienced three months ago, no matter how deep she tried to bury them in her mind.

There was one thing though that Tony didn't quite understand... how could Abby even think for a minute, that this event would be so easy to forget? For three full minutes the possibility of her becoming a mother was pretty real, the fact that a life was growing inside her could very well be the reality. Abby was no such thing as a porcelain doll that could break easily, but how could she that such a small amount of time as three minutes where her life could have change forever would not affect her or Gibbs? That they could keep going on as nothing had ever happen? As if those three minutes had never existed.

It's impossible. Tony had made that bitter discovery himself not so long ago. DiNozzo sighed heavily as memories resurfaced. He thought for a minutes then decided to share one of his biggest secret with Abby. Tony reached out for his glass and took a good gulp of water before he put the glass back on the table. He looked at the woman in front of him as he recalled how he had felt back then.

He knew how Abby felt because he'd had the same sort of experience, little over six months ago with Dawn Wilkerson. Dawn and he had started to date during the Curtin case. DiNozzo could remember it as if it'd been yesterday, Gibbs had disappeared, Abby wasn't exactly herself anymore - she was going crazy because she could feel Gibbs's pain while he was being tortured, and when they had finally find him back, he was nearly holding on to life, they'd had done the impossible to safe him at Bethesda which they did, but unfortunately he had slipped into a coma.

Dawn had come to Washington because she needed help from Gibbs because Thomas Johnson, the drunk driver responsible for her accident that had left her in a wheelchair had been released from jail, so she wanted to reach them to asked them for help to get Thomas Johnson back in prison.

As she could get Gibbs on his cell she'd left several messages on his voicemail asking him to call her back as soon as he could. As Gibbs didn't call back she had finally called him.

Tony remembered how hard it had been to tell the woman that agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs was in a coma.

"Did you tell her, that I could feel Gibbs's pain when he was kidnapped?"

"Yeah, I did. You know, Dawn, she would have found out anyway."

"True" Abby smiled.

They recalled the events of Gibbs's kidnapping then, the memories of it still very vivid in both their minds. Dawn Wilkerson had decided then to put everything on hold to bring some support to her friends.

Tony would never forget Dawn's face when they'd entered the room where Abby was sitting on a stainless steel table. The woman in the wheelchair had prepared herself for it, she knew it would be serious, as she knew how close Abby and Gibbs were, but nothing had prepared her for what she saw in that room. Her eyes had watered immediately and Dawn hadn't hesitate a second, she'd wheeled herself next to Abby and hugged her, telling her soothing words. Kate seemed to have an hostile behavior toward Dawn Wilkerson and at that moment Tony hadn't understood why.

Kate's behavior didn't make sense to him, what was important at the time were Abby and Gibbs. He had to come out of the coma he was in and they had to catch Curtain everything else didn't really matter.

Kate Todd had started to make caustic little comments about Dawn which was driving DiNozzo nuts, the woman had suffered enough already because of what she had been through and was going through due to the fact that Thomas Johnson was responsible of her being in a wheelchair because he had chosen to drink and drive.

Tony knew that NCIS agent Caitlin Todd didn't normally act so childishly, he couldn't understand why she was. If he hadn't known her better, he would have said it was jealousy. Jealousy of Dawn because she was really close to Abby, but it's normal to be close to someone you know for years.

Working for the federal bureau of investigation hadn't really helped her for some matters. And the thing was that Kate's actions had kind of pushed Dawn and Tony together.

When he wasn't working on the case, he often went to Bethesda to offer her a shoulder to cry on, Dawn hardly left Abby alone, and he suspected that his best friend shared a lot with the young woman.

He had often found her, her chair parked at the window, staring at the moon whenever she was sure Abby was asleep, approaching her he'd realize tears were running down her cheeks, and he would take her in his arms, and she'd cry further. One evening she was more worn out than others so Tony decided to call Ducky for him to come and watch over Abbs for a few hours.

He'd explained to the old medical examiner why he wanted him to come, and Ducky had told him he would be there. After Ducky had arrived at Bethesda and in Abby's room Tony took Dawn with him to his place, the woman needed rest otherwise she would end up in a bed next to his best friend.

Once at his place, Tony offered her a hot cup of coffee, and a plaid he placed on her shoulders, he was surprised had how fragile she suddenly seemed to be. Tony also put on some soft soothing music, to break the heavy tension that was hanging in his living room.

How could this have happened? She said more to herself than for the need for talking.

"That's the question I'm asking myself from the beginning of all this mess." Tony replied, softly.

"What went through, Curtin's head? And did he really think by achieving such a thing he would ever see his son again? If that's the case, he must really been stupid."

"No matter if it's stupid or not, all Curtin knows is that he can't see his son anymore and as far as he is concerned Gibbs is the one responsible for his misery."

"The only one responsible for Curtin's misery is the man himself..." her voice trailed off suddenly, and her hands started to shake. Tony immediately crouched to her side and encircled her with his arms.

"It's okay, Dawn, Everything will be okay, I promise." Tony told her in a soothing voice.

Dawn pulled back just enough to be able to look at him. "How can you be so sure, Tony? You haven't heard Abby. It's heartbreaking. I'm starting to wonder if I'm really on any help her, there is nothing I can do for her."

"You're there for her. You listen to her and that's already doing a lot believe me. If you wouldn't be there with her Abby would fall apart."

"You haven't answered my primer question, agent DiNozzo, how do you know that it's going to be alright?" She asked again in a stronger voice this time.

"I'm sure, Dawn, because, Abby and Gibbs are strong, they'll come through this together. Because agent Gibbs still alive thanks to our forensic scientist. He'll wake up, it'll take time, but he'll wake up and everything will be back to normal again, one day."

That night, Dawn managed to sleep a few hours into Tony's bed while he slept on the couch, that was until he heard screams come from his bedroom, he took a hold on his gun and rushed into the room, switching on the lights, he saw, that, thank goodness, no one had try to enter or anything it was just Dawn who had woke up with a start.

She looked terrified. Tony came to sit on the bed next to her, and she slowly started to cry.

"Sssh, sssh, I'm here, Dawn, it's over."

"He... he tried... to... to... kill me" She said in a broken voice.

"No one's gonna kill you, Dawn, you're safe, it was only a bad dream." Tony reassured her, kissing the top of her head after he wiped away her tears with his thumbs.

Dawn, pulled back a little, looked Tony in the eyes then her eyes switched to his lips and back to his eyes, leaning closer she kissed him, the moment he felt her lips on his he responded to it and deepened it. They kissed as if there would be no tomorrow, and when they parted for air they looked at one another for a long time, speaking to each other without exchanging a word.

The kiss was like a reminder that they were still alive - broken maybe - but alive.

Tony helped Dawn to lie down again, then he got to the other side of his bed and lied down behind her and held her close to him in hope she would be safe enough to fall asleep again.


	3. Chapter 3

Doctor Mallard had just finished cleaning up everything after an autopsy he'd performed on a corporal who'd been killed when he heard the slide doors open.

"You got a minute, Duck?" Gibbs asked the Medical examiner.

"Ah, Jethro! I just finished cleaning everything up so yes, I think I do. What can I help you with?" He demanded as he turned around to looked at the leader of the team. When he saw he's friend's expression he knew something wasn't right.

Duck knew Leroy Jethro Gibbs for years and usually when he had this particular expression on his face it meant that something was wrong on the more private aspect of his life so Mallard assumed it had something to do with their forensic scientist, Abigail Sciuto.

"I think we'll need more than a minute, here, Jethro."

Gibbs sighed. "Think you're right, Ducky.

"Why doesn't she talk to me anymore, Duck?"

"I presume the she is our very talented forensic expert?" The man asked his friend more like a statement than as a real question.

The man facing him simply nodded.

Ducky looked at Gibbs for a few moments before asking: "Did you have words with our sweet Abigail?"

Jethro sighed and told him "No."

"Did something happen between the two of you?"

As he thought about his friend's question, Gibbs couldn't immediately think of something significant that had happened the Abby and him that could explain why he had the feeling that the woman he loved wasn't talking to him about something.

"No, nothing happened."

"You sure about that, Jethro?" Ducky insisted.

The silver haired man thought about the question for a minute. Recalled him memories of the past few months, but couldn't think about anything, when suddenly a particular time spam of three minutes came as a flash through his mind. The longest three minutes of his entire life...

When they thought that Abby might have been pregnant.

Gibbs decided not to go into it right now, so his answer to his friend was: "No."

Dr. Mallard looked at Gibbs. "I think something significant happened between the two of you about three months ago," the medical examiner, who had now, also, a degree in psychology ventured.

"What makes you say that?"

"A couple a minor details: you try to spend more time that even normally spend in the field, you send Tony, Ziva or McGee down to Abby's lab to have results. And you're not doing all that because Abby and you are together, no. There is something more, Gibbs. I'm your friend, you can tell me what's on your mind."

Ducky looked at Gibbs silently and waited for him to speak.

"Reminded to be more careful when you are around."

"I've learned from the best." Duck smiled.

Gibbs sighed heavily as he passed a hand over his face. "You're right, something happened and I've been—we've been—fools to think nothing would change between us after those three minutes..." Gibbs's voice trailed off.

"Three minutes?" Ducky repeated in a questioning tone.

The NCIS team leader simply nodded, before he said "the longest shot time span of history for Abby and me."

The listening older man wasn't sure what it meant, and it took him a moment to understand what the meaning behind the words. But then as he looked at his friend more closely narrowing his eyes before they widened slightly.

"Oh dear... You thought she was pregnant, isn't it?"

Once again, Gibbs nodded his head affirmatively. "Yup."

"But the test came out negative. Oh, Jethro..."

"I should have known, Duck. I should have known that it wouldn't that easy to forget and put this behind us. At the moment we were so relieved that it came out negative, but now..."

"You realize that maybe, just maybe it wouldn't have been such a crazy idea to become a father again." The medical examiner finished for him.

"Something like that, yes." Gibbs sighed heavily.

"What do you say the both of us go out for a coffee, I think, I need some fresh air" Ducky told the silver haired man who was still sitting.

"Are you shocked?"

"No, Jethro, I'm amazed that it didn't actually happened sooner."

As he stood up he frowned.

"I might be old, Jethro, but I'm not blind" He smiled and added "I'm glad for the two of you."

"If I can't find a way to fix this, there will no reason anymore to be glad for us." Gibbs said.

"Talking would be a good start."

"Yeah, right, I'm not exactly a man of many words, doctor Mallard."

"As if I didn't know that already."

When they were standing in the elevator a few minutes later waiting for it to take them to the bullpen. Gibbs remembered that particular moment when he waited for the result to appear on the pregnancy test. He had wanted it to be negative, he

would helped Abby if it had shown otherwise, but it had really wanted the test to be negative at that moment, but for what reason exactly. So his life would stay easy? He didn't know it. All he could remember thinking was _please don't let her be pregnant._

But today...

Suddenly Gibbs pulled the emergency switch and the elevator can to an halt for a moment everything was silent. Doctor Mallard wondered for a moment why Gibbs had pulled the emergency switch if it was to say nothing. In the dim light he could see that his friend was leaning against the back panel of the metallic cabin, his eyes closed the medical examiner was about to ask him a question when the man started to talk. Gibbs let everything out for some reason, his fears, and happiness since Abby and he were a couple.

Then he relate the moment they thought she'd been pregnant, his feelings about back then followed by more painful ones that involved Shannon and Kelly was born, everything had come back to the surface back then, he'd been overwhelmed by emotions, they'd been too painful. He had ones lost so much and Gibbs didn't want through that sort of aches ever again. The risk to be hurt again was too great.

At least that's what he thought. There was a whole other aspect he hadn't considered back then. The positive parts.

The pleasure of seeing them grow... Waiting anxiously and impatiently for their very first word. The love they can give you back, the fact that they look up at you... The way they smile and make all your troubles melt away.

Gibbs smiled, thinking to himself: _maybe_ _becoming a father again wouldn't be such a bad idea after all._

But now what he needed to do was talk to Abby and tell her how this event had affect him. He was going to have to find his words for that... in the immediate though he was going to buy his friend a coffee.

"Thanks, Ducky."

"Now what would you say we going to drink that coffee."

The switch was push up a couple of moments later, and the elevator was back in movement.

"Abby loves you, Jethro, she really does. I'm sure she will understand."

"I know she does love me, Ducky. I just hope that you are right and that she will indeed understand." Gibbs answered his friend as they both head out of the federal building.

"How is DiNozzo doing?"

"I don't know. This morning he received a call and he said he had to leave for some personal matter that it had something to with his father, but for some reason, I have some doubts about that story."

The medical examiner laughed.

"What's so funny about what I just told you?" Gibbs asked surprised.

"Nothing. It's just that I can't believe you of all people hasn't understood what Tony's personal matter really was."

Blue questioning eyes met Ducky's. "What do you mean?"

"I'll put this on your worries about our forensic scientist, who hasn't showed up at work this morning."

Gibbs didn't say anything in response, he just watched Dr. Mallard.

"Abigail doesn't show up, today probably because all this case we were working has reminded her of what happened between the two of you about three months ago and suddenly Anthony gets a call and he leaves for personal matters... Don't you get it?"

Finally Gibbs puts two and two together. Abby has called Tony. She needs to talk and as he feels she can't talk to her best friend and lover she turns to the one she considers her big brother.

"I think I needs to see, her, Ducky." The NCIS team leader says and starts to walk away, but he can't has he feels his arm being pulled back."

"No, Jethro. Let her talk with dear, Anthony. She needs the talk but believe me he needs it too... Tony has also some issues to deal with."

"Duck?"

Ducky knew he had said too much already, but there was no way back, now, was there?


	4. Chapter 4

"Tony, why are you telling me this, I don't see how your story with Dawn could be of any help for me and my situation with Gibbs." Abby told her friend and colleague.

"I'm not finished with it, Abbs." Tony answered her slightly annoyed.

Abby looked down at her lap like a little girl being caught at doing something she shouldn't have done. "Sorry." She apologized.

"Dawn had finally fallen asleep in my arms, I held her the entire night. She woke up two or three times with a start terrified by her nightmares. I stayed with her during the following nights as well, some night we'd stay up just talking, when she was too scare to close her eyes, even with me by her side." Tony continued.

"What happened?"

DiNozzo smiled as he remember that particular period with Dawn Wilkerson. Never in his entire life had he met someone like her. Her handicap is not something that's stopping her, you could think that after what that bastard of Johnson did to her that she would have given up or something, but now she fought back and became a lawyer. She's a strong and bright personality. Dawn and I grew closer and closer together to the point that we became lovers..." He trailed off and reach for his bottle of water, to take a few gulps before Tony went on with the story he was telling Abigail.

"Yes, I remember. You were both very happy back then." Abby smiled at him.

"We were very happy." A smile appeared on his face as he thought about it. A moment later it vanished from his lips.

"What is it, Tony, what happened, then?" Abby asked as she saw his eyes shadowed by grief.

It took a moment for him to answer as he was suddenly overwhelmed by emotions. When Abby saw the emotions play on Tony's face she got concerned that something serious might have happened to him or Dawn. One day, their friend had disappeared without a word out of their lives and Abby had always wondered why.

It wasn't like the woman she knew. The forensic scientist had had the feeling at the time that the lawyer was shutting everyone out of her life. She'd become very sad, and didn't want to talk that easily anymore.

Something had happened but she'd never known what it was because DiNozzo hadn't want to talk either back then so Abby wondered if he was finally willing to open up about why Dawn and him had broken up while the seemed to be made for one another and so in love.

"One day, I came home from work, late as usual though I try not to be too late. Dawn didn't really get bother about it because she understand our work you know?" Tony started.

"Yes, I know." Was Abby's answer.

"When I opened the door of my apartment, I was met with soft music and burning candles. Dawn's chair was standing at the piano like it often was, she was waiting for me. I dropped my bag and greeted her with a kiss like I always did, and she folded her arms around my neck leaning in before letting of my lips to whisper in my ear: _Welcome, home, daddy._ "

"Oh my God!" Abby interrupted him as she placed a hand on her mouth. "Dawn was pregnant. You were going to be a dad."

"Yes," DiNozzo answered her question in a sad tone of voice "Yeah, I was, though it took me a little longer for the words to sink in and to realize was she meant by that."

"I bed."

"Unfortunately the happiness didn't last long...We..." Tony's voice trailed off and Abby's eyes widened before the welled up with tears as she put two and two together.

They'd lost the baby. Her heart broke at the thought of what they'd been going through.

"I wanted that baby, Abbs, we both did. We hadn't planned it, but were going to have it anyway, because we thought we loved each other enough, you know? And we did, and to be honest with you, I still love her so much it hurts. I've never felt that way about anyone before and I think that's why Kate seemed to dislike her."

Tears rolled down Abby's cheeks as she listen to Tony. She wanted so much to hug him, but she was afraid that if she did so, he would stop talking so, she just listen to him and blushed her tears away with the palm of her hands.

"Dawn and I tried to convince herself that it was okay. That fate at decided it wasn't time for us, that we could try again a bit later we even went to a doctor to ask if it was fine if he would try again. We tried to act as if nothing happened, I kept working she did the same, we still kissed and slept next to each other, but that was all the physical contact we had. We didn't make love anymore. Not that we didn't want to, but Dawn just simply couldn't she felt as if she failed again."

"Oh God, she must have think, she failed, not only you, but as the woman she is. Johnson destroyed part of her life by taking the using of her legs away from her, but she picked up the broken piece of her life and rebuilt a new one — one where you are a big part of it, and I guess that she thinks she failed as a woman because she couldn't give you a child. Even if the doctor said you could try again."

"It doesn't make her less than a woman to me, Abbs."

"I know that, Tony, I know. But she needs to deal with her feels on her own for the moment. She will come back to you, I promise."

Abby saw tears rolled down her friend's eyes then. And moved closer to him and hugged him. "I loved that child so much already I know it's stupid cause it was still a little shrimp, but I was already imagining all the things we could do together, boy or girl it didn't matter. And suddenly it all vanished. I lost a baby, Abbs, Dawn and I lost a baby." Tony DiNozzo cried. She couldn't say anything, overwhelmed by emotions as well because of what her friend and colleague had experienced.

Abby wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay, but felt it was such a stupid thing to say. How could things be okay when you've lost an unborn child as small has it might have been you are attached to it emotionally quite rapidly if you are a born mother and Abigail Sciuto had no doubt it was Dawn's case.

Now the woman's departure seemed to make more sense though she would have wished Dawn would've at least try to talk to one of them other than Tony so maybe they could have helped them through this very difficult moments. Sure they probably couldn't take the grief away, but talking to someone would have helped better than to disappear without a word.

"I wish she would come back so we could try to talk about what happened and maybe start over. I miss her so much." The agent told her in a broken voice.

Abby caressed his hair softly telling him she knew and vowed she would be able to find a way to bring Dawn and Tony back together, she hated to see him so sad and vulnerable, it was so unlike him. She so much preferred to see him put on in clown mask. It meant that everything was fine in his world sort of.

"You should try to get some sleep, Tony. Go take might bed and get some sleep."

"No, I came here to help you."

"I know you did and you helped me more than you think. Now go get some sleep, doctor's orders!" She smiled and winked at him.

"Alright then." Tony said as he head for the stairs.

Abigail wasn't sure he would actually sleep, but she hoped so, because while he would sleep he would forget about the memory for a bit. She realized then her problems with Gibbs regarding the fact of him not really wanting a baby didn't really matter after all, she would talk with him soon. They would find a way to work it out together, they had always done so before when they weren't even a couple.

Her first priority now, was to help DiNozzo find happiness back with Dawn Wilkerson. She headed upstairs to check out if Tony was asleep, and smiled as she saw that he was. As she entered the room Abby was careful not to make too much noise. He looked so cute, just like a big kid when he was sleeping.

Pulling up the covers over him, she place a soft kiss on his forehead and promised him in a whisper that he would soon be reunited with the woman he loved.

As she existed the room, she turn one last time to watch her friend before closing the door and heading down stairs to grab her cell phone.

But where to start? The forensic scientist had not the slightest idea were to start her investigation to find the lawyer back. Abby sighed heavily, and took a deep breath, before she flipped open her phone, and pressed the digit that would speed dial Gibbs's number.

She hadn't planned on talking to her boss and lover so soon so she tool another deep breath to give herself some courage.

_Helping him, Abby. Helping your big brother._


	5. Chapter 5

Abby hoped for just a split second that Gibbs wouldn't answer his cell phone, but only for a spit second because, of course, would he pick up his cell.

"Gibbs."

["As usual you didn't check the caller ID."] Was the first words she said.

"Abby are you alright?" Gibbs asked her with evident concern in his voice.

["I'm fine. But I'm not calling to talk about me. I called you because I need you to do something for me, for Tony actually."]

"Is DiNozzo's with you?"

["He is."] Was her short reply.

"What's going on, Abbs? Talk to me, please."

Silence was all he heard for a moment. Abby had been taken aback, by his _please_

["We'll talk, I promise, but listen."] Abby stopped talking suddenly, turning around to look at the staircase just to make sure DiNozzo wasn't up and listening.

"Abbs? Abbs? Are you still there?"

["Yeah, I'm still here, Gibbs it's just that I'm making sure Tony can't hear me."]

"Huh why what's wrong? Where is he?"

["He's sleeping in my bed."] She said in a low voice.

"Abbs..." Gibbs started, but she cut him off before he could continue.

This conversation was going nowhere, so Abby decided to ask him to come so she would able to explain everything to him more clearly. Abigail had the feeling that if she didn't this all thing would end up in a big mess.

["Meet me in about twenty minutes at 'our' coffee shop."] She simply told him before hanging up.

Abby took a sheet of paper and wrote.

_Hey, big brother,_

_Something came up, I'll be back in about an hour or so. Thanks for sharing your story with me, it helped me more than you can possibly know. I guess that with the case we have been just working on and thinking I was pregnant while I wasn't just got a little too much for me._

_I'm going to talk to Gibbs and see how things are going from there. Make yourself at home, call if you need anything. If you decided to leave, you know where the spare keys are and where to put them back._

_Thanks again, Tony, you're the best, big brother I could have dreamed of._

_Abbs._

At the coffee shop Abby ordered herself a Latte Macchiato, something that didn't happen very often because she preferred cold coffee, not as much as a good Caf Pow. But right now she really wanted a Latte Macchiato. Gibbs wasn't there yet, so she played different scenarios in her mind on how to bring the subject up. She had told Gibbs on the phone they would talk later. As she had told him that Abby knew that her silver haired fox would understand what she was referring to, but now, as she was waiting for him to arrive she wasn't sure that she would be able to keep Tony's story and their problem separated.

She was disappointed by the way Gibbs and reacted as she thought about it, but she was also disappointed by herself the way she said nothing after it all happened, making them both believe that everything was okay after the months past and that she started to feel the emptiness and sadness. But after what Tony had told her, she realized how futile it all was, she wasn't pregnant while Dawn was and lost the baby she was expecting. Gibbs and she hadn't lost anything if anything they'd been relieved.

Why hadn't she seen all that before? She needed to tell Gibbs all this. She needed to tell him that what had had happened mattered, but that they were still okay, that she loved him still, she'd never stopped loving him.

Abby sighed before taking a sip of her Latte Macchiato has she put her glass down again, a I'm so sorry Gibbs left Abigail's lips in a murmur as if on cue, Leroy Jethro Gibbs entered the coffee shop at that precise moment.

"What are you sorry about, Abbs?" He asked, smiling softly at her as he was relieved to see her and she seemed to be okay.

_How..._

Abby stood up and placed her arms around his neck leaning in closer to him and kissed him, not caring that they were in a public place or that people were looking at them, he automatically responded to her kiss, it was tender and slow, when they separated her eyes opened and she giggled when she saw a white foam under his nose. "Oops."

The NCIS forensic scientist, brushed the foam from under his nose with her thumb.

"Now that was nice greeting." He smiled at her. "So we're okay, then?" He couldn't helped but asking her the question.

Abby nodded her head affirmatively. With an hand gesture she invited him to sit with her at the table. Icy blue met rich green and they smiled at each other. Gibbs grabbed her hand, and intertwined his fingers with hers smaller ones.

"Tell me," he asked her softly.

"Want some coffee?" She wondered, not too sure how to started this conversation.

"Talk to me, first, Abbs, please."

"Tony's not doing, well," were the first words that rolled out of her mouth.

Gibbs arched up a brow at his lover's words. "DiNozzo seems to be going pretty well to me."

"Maybe, but he's not, believe me. You're not to be blamed for not seeing it, he's done a pretty good job hiding it, but then again, he learned from the best."

"Can't really deny that, can I?"

Abby simply smiled without saying a word, she drank from her Macchiato and then looked over at him again. Tony made me understand a lot of things today, he gave me some new perspectives. "I haven't been honest with myself for these past months which also means that I've been dishonest with you, something I promised myself never to be with you." Abbs tells Gibbs before being silent for a moment.

Her silver haired fox said nothing in response, he just looked at her questioningly.

"What do you mean, Abbs?" Gibbs asked a bit startled by her confession.

"Remember those three minutes?"

How could he forget the three longest minutes of his life — their life.

Gibbs nodded, "yeah."

The look of sadness that passed in his eyes didn't escape Abby. Did it mean that he was feeling the same way she did after all about all this? Or was it just because it made him think about his lost daughter? Abigail had no idea. She wanted to ask him if it was indeed the case, but decided against it for now. If it did he would probably tell her so when he was ready for it.

"I acted as if everything was fine. And I was that moment until a couple of days later. A friend called, she was so overly excited because she was pregnant, she would finally becoming a mom, and wondered how it would be for me to be a mom, you know? And this case, how can a mother come to the point of killing her kids to be with her lover? If a man asks you to that it means that he doesn't really love you, well that is in my opinion, but that the woman in question really goes on and does so is beyond me, Gibbs. It could have easily been a cause the BAU in Quantico could have worked on... and now Tony's story..." Abby stopped herself as she was overwhelmed by emotions, when she remembered how sad Tony had been earlier.

Her eyes were now shining with unshed tears.

The silver haired man had looked at Abby carefully, when she had talked and he realized that she was feeling pretty much the same way about the baby situation. He wondered though why she kept talking about DiNozzo.

He squeezed her hand slightly. "I know, Abbs," was his soft response to her. Deep green pools looked at him asking him the question she could form in words, a smiled lifted the corners of her mouth when he nodded his head.

Gibbs lifted their joined hands to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. "Oh, Gibbs..." she let out in a broken voice.

"What's going on with, DiNozzo?" He asked.

Abby couldn't fight against her tears anymore at the question and they rolled freely down her cheeks now. "He... he... and Dawn..." Abby stopped herself to take a deep breath to try and calm down, her emotions so, she could tell, the man she loved what had happened to his senior field agent.

"He and Dawn what, Abbs?" He urged her on softly.

"Dawn was pregnant and she lost the baby." She managed to get out the full sentence in one breath. When Abby looked at Gibbs then she saw sadness take over in his eyes which made their color change to a shade of blue gray.

 _Why hasn't he said anything?_ The NCIS team leader wondered, this is not a burden he had to carry on his own. He himself hadn't really talked to anyone either about what had happen to his wife and daughter to his team, had he?

"Is that the reason why, Dawn left?"

"Yes,"

"Now, I understand what Ducky meant, and why DiNozzo seemed so... elsewhere and sad back then."

"What? Ducky knows?" Abby asked, surprised.

"I'm not sure he knows exactly what is going on with him, but he suspects something isn't right."

"Doesn't really shock me."

"Knowing, Duck, me neither."

"I would like for you to help me find her back for him — for the both of them — Tony needs her they need to talk, Gibbs. She's left for the wrong reasons, Dawn thinks she has failed Tony as she was unable to keep their child. The thing is, she left without saying a word so he hasn't had the chance to tell her that he didn't change his feelings for her in any way, Dawn is still the woman he loves."

"Abby..." He started, but she cut him off.

"I know what you're thinking, Gibbs, but I've seen them together, they really love one another. Dawn left cause she didn't know what else to do, I talk to her more than once and she really loves Tony she told me he was the best thing that happened to her since this all ordeal with Johnson. I'm not gonna let them ruined their lives when I know they can be happy together."

Gibbs couldn't stop the smile that appeared on his lips. _When Abby wanted to do something there was no way to stop her._

"What can I say to that other than, I'll help you?"

"You're the best!" She said as she stood up to hug him rather forcefully.

"I know."

Abby pulled back, just enough to be able to look into his eyes, and murmured, I love you.

"I love you, too," he said.

His words were followed by another hugs. They stay like this, just a little bit, just long enough to enjoy being held by one another. Then Gibbs lower his hands slowly so that he was holding her sides, pushing her softly away from him. He stood up, Abby looked at him intrigued.

"Coffee."

Abby giggled.

Gibbs ordered another Latte Macchiato for Abby and a black one for him, adding that they were to go. A few moments later his order was ready, and it took the two coffees, paid for them and as he come back to her he handed her the Macchiato one and they headed out.

The moment they were out, Abby closed her eyes and breathed in some fresh air, she felt so much lighter now than when she had entered the coffee shop, sure she and the man standing next to her had still a lot of talking to do with each other, but she was certain that everything would be just fine and that would come out of it, stronger.

"Abby?"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?" Gibbs asked as he put an arm around her shoulders, his gesture just reinforced her conviction that everything would indeed turn out okay for all of them.

"Yeah, let's go home and see how Tony's doing..."


	6. Chapter 6

When they were about to enter her place, she pulled at Gibbs' arm. "No word to Ziva, McGee or even Palmer about this, right? You're not even suppose to know about it. Tony trusted me enough to tell me so..."

"Don't worry, Abbs."

"I really wanna help him, I hate seeing him so sad."

"I know you do. I promise that we will help him."

"I want it to be a surprise, Gibbs. I want to see him happy again."

Gibbs could help the smirk that lifted the corners of his mouth as he listened to her. His girl would never change, always wanting everyone she cared about happy, no matter what was to be done to keep them that way. She would do it.

He pulled her to him and kissed her. Abby smiled when their lips let go of each other. "I missed this." She said softly, "our spontaneous tender moments."

"Me too," was the whisper in her ear.

When she looked in his icy blue eyes, Abigail Sciuto was all serious again. "How will we manage to keep this a secret to the others?"

The answer to her question was another kiss to her mouth. When they separated once again, he smiled mischievously at her. "What?"

"No one of the team will know, I promise."

Abby pulled her head back and looked at him curiously she couldn't figure anything out from the look in his eyes and it annoyed her slightly all Abby knew for sure was that he was up to something. "Trust me, baby."

Oh, yeah, Gibbs' up to something. she thought to herself otherwise he wouldn't added the word 'baby' in the sentence.

"Okay." Was all she said.

They were inside her place a few moments later, she didn't say anything, Abby was pleased to see that Tony was still there, he was away and had set coffee.

"I think that someone figured out where you were going." Gibbs remarked.

"Yeah," Abby replied as she walked toward her 'big brother' to give him a big hug. "How are you doing? Feeling any better?"

"Yes, I'm feeling a lot better, thanks, Abbs." Tony lied. A little white lied to set Abby at ease, though it didn't work.

As he eyed, his boss, DiNozzo could see it didn't approved his maneuver to try and distract their science goddess.

"Liar."

He should have known better... Abby was getting as good as Gibbs when it came to know if someone was lying. Though he would never admit that to her.

"I promise, Abbs, I'm feeling a bit better. It hurts, but it was also good to talk to you about it and... to sleep."

"Does this answer satisfy you?"

Abby nodded smiling, "yes," she replied, visibly pleased with his honest answer.

As they all were sitting in the kitchen sipping on their still steaming coffee, DiNozzo wanted to know where she went while he'd been asleep.

He looked suspiciously as he saw both his boss and the woman he considered like his little sister look at each other conspiratorially. The looks were followed by smiles.

Yeah, they'd been talking to one another, because, the tension that radiated from them for months had vanished. Tony couldn't say if they'd been talking about their situation or anything else, but at this point he didn't care, he was happy because everything seemed back to normal between his two friends.

Tony couldn't help the smile that appeared on his lips as well, it was really good to see them like this again.

"I think I'm gonna go back to NCIS and see if McNuggets and Ziva aren't messing up too much."

"You aren't going anywhere, DiNozzo," Gibbs told him. "And if you really want to go somewhere, the only place you will go is home."

"Boss, I'm fine." Tony assured the man who faced him now.

"I know. But I also know that you've been working around the clock for more than a week and it's time for you to rest. McGee and Ziva are big enough and they will manage without you for one day. End of discussion." His boss told him.

"Can I stay here, a bit longer, Abbs?"

"Sure, Tony, stay as long as you need." She said as she came closer toward him and placed one of her arms around his shoulders.

"Thanks," he replied as he place a kiss on her cheek.

"Anytime, big brother." she smiled as she looked at him.

As Abby looked over at Gibbs, she winked. "I'll go back to work with Gibbs, and if there is anything, don't hesitate to call."

"Yes, mom." Tony replied as he rolled his eyes.

Abby gave him a little push in the shoulder, before hugging him one more time before she walked toward the man she loved more than life itself, though she had only realized that recently.

"Ready?" She asked, Gibbs as she encircled his waist, with both arms and laid her head against his chest.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't ma'am, me, Gibbs." She told him, with the smallest hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Let's go."

Five minutes later, Gibbs and Abby were outside the door and, heading for the NCIS federal building.

"What's your plan to not involve the team in the search for Dawn?"

"I thought you trusted me." He said as he looked at her for a moment before focusing on the road again.

"I do, trust you. I do! I'm just curious that's all."

Gibbs chuckled yeah this was good hold, Abby. He thought.

"Just trust me. You'll know how soon enough." Gibbs reassured her.

Disappointed the forensic scientist pouted. "You're no fun."

Now he couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. Abigail Sciuto, such a smart woman, she was one of the smartest person he knew and yet she could act like a child at some points. Another reason why he loved her.

"Tell me, don't you have a friend in the FBI who's really good with computer searching?" He asked her a bit out of the blue. Gibbs hadn't really planned to tell her what he wanted to do, but he just couldn't let her in the dark.

Abby looked at him wide eyed, visibly startled by his question. As he thought about his question, Gibbs looked at her and saw the moment she had understood his plan. Her eyes sparkled with a new light.

"Gibbs you are a real genius!" She said excitingly. She wanted to kiss and throw her arms around him, but restrained herself. Abby touch his forearm and asked him to pull over.

The silver haired man looked at her questioningly. "Just pull over.."

Gibbs said nothing, he drove a little further until he was certain he could park the car and wouldn't be in the way of any passing car. He then stopped the car and killed the engine.

"Wha..." Was all he could manage to get out because her lips were on his before he could fully register what was going on? Once he did, he kissed her back; it felt so good to kiss her again, her tasty lips. He'd missed this so much, there was no holding back anymore, the wall that had been build between the two of them the last few months had crumbled down in a faction of time.

One kiss turned into a second one that became a third until their lips didn't separate anymore, the kiss deepened and became very passionate. They both wanted control over it, one of his hands placing itself on her neck while the other navigated itself around her waist to pull her closer to him. While it wasn't like him to do so, Gibbs surrendered and granted the control to Abby after a moment. He was way too happy that she was back in his arms where she'd always belonged.

Neither of them wanted the kiss to end, but they both really were in need for air. Heavy breathings was all that could be heard for a moment in the car.

When his lungs ceased to burn and allowed him to speak again, Gibbs said something that Abby wasn't used to hear: "I'm sorry, Abbs..."

He knew she was about to protest when he saw her open her mouth, but before she could let any word out he place an index finger on them.

"Not a word. Let me talk."

The black haired woman he was holding in his arms simply nodded her head then leaned forward to rest her forehead against his chest.

"I'm sorry for what I put you through. I should have realized that those three minutes would have consequences for the both of us. If there is really someone to blame for it, it should be me, and my communicating problem. I didn't get how afraid I was that your might have been pregnant back then. I was afraid and selfish. I didn't want to go through all of it again. Cleaning dippers, standing up in the middle of the night because the baby's crying and all those things that come with being a parent, you know?" His voice trailed off for a minutes as he gathered his thoughts about what he wanted to say next.

"... All were excuse for me not to face my real problem."

"Oh Gibbs..." Abby murmured as she leaned a little more forward and turned her heard she could place her ear against his chest in order to listen to the beating of his heart as she suspect what the man's next words were going to be.

Abby decided to say nothing more and let Gibbs finish what he wanted to say as she thought he would be the best for him to talk. Abby could hear and feel him take a deep breath before exhaling slowly before he spoke again.

"... I was afraid that I would love a child again, love him so much that he would hurt. Afraid that had some point he or she would depend on me and I would have to protect my child and fail, Abbs. I'm not sure that I would be able to handle the fact to fail protecting someone I care about. When I lost Shannon and Kelly I thought I would die. I felt useless and alone. I fail as a father and a husband. I can't go through this again, Abby." Gibbs told her rather forcefully.

Her heart fell and she had tears in her eyes as Abby heard his words. She understood him, but could help but feeling hurt as well but for different reasons. Abby's body tensed slightly.

She was about to say something when he continued. "I will not go through this again because I will be there for my child this time. I have to admit that the idea still scared me, but if life should allows you to be pregnant again, well I'll be there and happy to be so.

Abby pushed herself up and looked up at him with teary eyes. Afraid to asked if she had understood him correctly.

Gibbs smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her. Her arms came 'round his neck as she kissed him back.

When their lips unlocked Abby rested her forehead against his and said:

"Promise me that we won't let anything come between us ever again, Gibbs."

"I promise." he answered.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Now let's go back to work, see if I can find some information on Dawn and call my friend.

Abby pushed herself away from the man she loved as he let his hands slowly slide back from around her waist to find its place on the steering wheel, Abby sad back in her seat and fastened her seatbelt again, she smiled at Gibbs.

Gibbs smiled back a smile that went to his eyes, as he brought the engine back to life and they headed to NCIS.

Abby hoped to be able to find Dawn Wilkerson back for Tony's sake and his happiness and while she was at it she would try to find some information on Johnston and see what she could do with the help of her friend to put that moron back in jail where he belonged.


	7. Chapter 7

Gibbs and Abby went straight to her lab when they arrived. There was no time to lose. Both of them had a strange feeling that they needed to find the woman Tony was in love with.

"Abbs..."

"Yes, I know, Gibbs."

Neither of them could explain what they felt in words, but the uneasy feeling. Both had the impression that Dawn was in danger somehow Or that she at least would be any time soon.

Abby looked over her shoulder at Gibbs as she reach for her cell phone flipping it open she dialed her friend's number. Abby's friend picked up her phone almost immediately.

Gibbs heard her talk excitingly for a few moments, but then her voice became more serious as she asked for help to find Dawn back.

"I know you have lots of work to do, Penelope, but I really need your help on this one. It's for Tony."

["No need for an explanation, sweetie."]

"Thanks, you are the best, P."

["I know. I'll call you back when I have something."]

"Okay." She replied and ended the communication. She swirled her chair face Gibbs and told him.

"Penelope Garcia, my friend will help us find Dawn back, she's the best for that sort of task. Even if Dawn is hiding or has changed her identity she will probably find her."

Abby briefly wondered why she had supposed that the woman could be hiding or something it just flipped out of her mouth without real reason, but as she eyed her silver haired fox, she knew he was on the same train.

"Do you have any ideas of something we could do?"

"Not really sure, Abbs, but there is one thing I know for sure, I'm not going sit here and do nothing."

They were looking for Dawn for Tony, but also because they liked her very much, Dawn Wilkerson was an inspiration for them all, she had never giving up on life and wasn't bitter toward others because of what had happen to her, on the contrary she'd chosen to become a lawyer to help others.

Abby watched as something on Gibbs' features changed, he'd just had an idea, and suddenly reached for his cell phone in his jacket pocket, he flipped his phone on and his fingers pressed the digits of a phone number.

The person the NCIS team leader tried to reach pick up on the third ring.

"Hey, Angie."

Abby frowned when she hurt the man she loved pronounce the woman's name, and felt a pinch of jealousy burn in her stomach.

["Gibbs! How are you? I'm been a while since I've heard from you."]

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry. Work. You know. I know it's not an excuse not to call your friends..."

["That's right, it isn't. What can I do for you?"]

"Help me find someone." Gibbs said and he could picture Angela Montenegro frown.

["Gibbs you have one of the best teams, can't they do that for you?"]

"Well that's the problem, they can't know about the search."

["Why not?"]

"Too long story to tell you, now. Can you help, please?"

 _This must be really important, because Gibbs never said please, to him it was a sign of weakness._ Angela thought.

["Shoot."]

"I know to help me find, a woman named, Dawn Wilkerson."

Gibbs was met with silence, something rather unusual when he was talking with Angela Montenegro on the phone.

"She's a lower and she's in..." Gibbs frowned, something wasn't right here. Angela had never been silent for so long. "Angie? Angela you still there?"

Finally he heard her voice again, but she was a few tones lower and slightly broken when she spoke again. ["She's in a wheelchair, and was the girlfriend of you senior field agent, Antony DiNozzo."]

Startled and surprise, it took a Gibbs a moment to ask: "You know her?"

["Yes, she's a friend of mine. What happened?"]

"What exactly do you know about Dawn and Tony's breakup?"

["Not much, actually. All she told me was that it was over between him and Tony, but she didn't really say anything more. All she said was that she hadn't any other choice... Then she left, I figure she would call me back when she would be better, but she never did. And Dawn is the kind of person that rather work when something goes wrong in her like than talk, I didn't really worry. Gibbs was it going on?"]

Angela could hear a heavy sigh being released by the man she was talking to. He told her that he couldn't talk to her about it on the phone. He asked her if they could meet later on.

Gibbs and Angela agreed to meet at the reflecting pool six hours later, it would be late in the evening and no one should normally question her if she wanted to leave, except maybe for Hodgins. She'd decided how to act toward the others when she had her talk with Gibbs.

Dawn was a very good friend and was always there for her when she need someone to listen to. Tempe was her best friend and she loved her, but she couldn't have the same conversations with her that she could have with Dawn.

They'd met in an art exhibition a few years back, the woman had just become a lawyer, her chair was standing in front of Norman Rockwell painting, observing it as it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Angela Montenegro remembered as it had been happening yesterday. They had started to discuss art and why they loved it, and had discovered they'd had a lot of things in common.

They'd been really good friends since then.

Angela tried to call Dawn without success, she had to leave a message. She would try again later though Gibbs must have tried that as well.

When Dr. Temperance Brennan came to see if she had find something about the weapon had been used in the case they were working on, the forensic anthropologist noticed, something wasn't right with her friend.

"Angela is everything alright?"

Brennan received no reaction so she asked her question again. "Angela are you alright?"

"Huh?" Was her reaction when she snapped out of her thoughts.

"I was asking you if you were doing alright." Temperance told the artist.

"Yes. Yes, don't worry."

Brennan tilted her head slightly to the side, looked at Angie and frown. "Well I'm not an expert in this area, but you seem far from being alright and I have to say that you actually look worried."

"A friend of mine, just called. He works at NCIS and he asked me if I could help him search for someone. I said I would help him, the problem is. The person he's looking for is a friend of mine."

"I don't see what the problem is, Angela. Unless your friend is involved in something and you don't want anyone to find her. Like when you helped me when Pelant wanted to frame me for a murder I didn't commit."

"No, she didn't do anything like that. Dawn Wilkerson is a great person. What annoys me is that I just found out she didn't tell me anything about the breakup with her boyfriend."

The anthropologist eyed her friend strangely. Angela just smiled and hugged her, she made huge steps forwards since she was with Booth but some things just were completely foreign to her when it came the complexities of the human emotional and sentimental world.

"Did you find anything that could indicate what the weapon of choice might have been?"

Bones as her lover called her affectionately was answered with a heavy sighed. "Tammy Hathaway got killed with a blunt object, something like a baseball bat, but for now I haven't anything more, sweetie, I'm sorry."

She went back to her office leaving her friend standing alone in front of her big transparent computer screen. Angela decide to call Dawn again, but she was met with her voicemail so once more she left the message asking her to call back as soon as she could. She was definitely annoyed. Maybe she would have an idea where she would be after her meeting with Gibbs.

Abby looked at the man who walk back in her direction questioningly. Reading the question in her eyes, he answered. "Angela is a friend of mine. Just a friend, Abbs, she works for the Jeffersonian. She's an artist, but now she mostly gives back a face to the victims. She works with the forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan."

Abigail Sciuto, looked at him wide eyed now. " ** _The_** doctor Temperance Brennan, your friend works with the doctor Brennan?"

"Yes." Gibbs said simply not sure where Abby sudden interest came from.

"Oh my gosh!"

"Why all the excitement?"

"You've never read a scientific magazine, Gibbs? What she does is amazing, it's not an easy job to do, but I think that somehow it must be pretty much satisfying. She makes the bones talk, give the forgotten persons their identity back."

"I know."

"There was a time, I wanted to do that job, but there is too much trauma that comes with it, you know, we have to deal with dead ones too, but it's less..."

Gibbs could help but chuckle at her words, the woman who wear most of the time a T-shirt with a skull on it and slept in a coffin thinks the job of Brennan and her team is creepy.

"What?"

"Nothing." He answered.

"I know. Strange thing to say for a woman who sleeps in a coffin, huh?"

Gibbs simply nodded his head positively. And said, "I'll meet Angela at the reflecting pool want to come with?"

"Yes." Abby answer as she stood and walk over to him to hug him. "Where is she, Gibbs? Why didn't she trust us enough to tell us what's going on?

"I don't know, Abbs, I don't know." He replied softly tightening his arms around her.

They stayed like this a little while longer before Gibbs told her he was going to see how McGee and Ziva were doing. And tell them, DiNozzo wouldn't come back in again today.

"What if they ask you why?"

"I'll find something. Don't worry about it."

"I'm not. Not really, it's just that Ziva know when something's not right, you know?"

"Yes, I know. Just call me back if you found something or if you need something, okay?" He told her when he let go over her and walked toward the exit doors of her lab.

"Even when I need a hug?" She asked as she watched him walking away.

"Even for that." She heard Gibbs' voice answer her from the corridor.

When Ziva saw Gibbs appear she asked immediately if everything was alright. Her boss looked over at her and said everything as okay when he headed for his desk and sat in his chair.

Ziva frowned and watched intently. McGee would believe him, but she wasn't so easily convinced, but she decided to let it slide for now. "Where is Tony?" she asked.

"He's not coming back in, today."

McGee looked away from his computer screen at Gibbs words.

"What? Why not?"

"He needs some sleep, he's been working for too long."

"Huh? So did we," protested Tim. "Why does he get a day off? And not us?" The moment he'd said the words the younger NCIS agent realized he should have hold his mouth shut, but it was too late.

"Because I said so, McGee!" Gibbs answered dryly and rather forcefully.

"Sorry boss."

"Now, get back to work!"

His phone desk rang then. "Yeah, Abbs, I'll be there in a minute." Gibbs told the forensic scientist, he was already half out of his chair when he hung up the phone. No more words were exchanged as he walk in a rather rapid pace in the direction of the elevator. He pushed the button and waited for it to come up, but it wasn't going fast enough so he decided for the stairs.

Yeah something was going on.NCIS special agent Ziva David thought.

As he walked down the stairs, Gibbs' heart was raising, when she'd called him a few moments ago, he had heard panic in her voice, she must have discovered something about Dawn of Johnston.

When he entered her lab, Gibbs found her pacing and with moving her hands nervously.

"Abby?"

Startled by his voice as if she hadn't expect him to stand there, she jumped slightly. When she looked at him, he realized she was on the verge of crying. Gibbs was at her side in a matter of seconds. He placed one of his hands on the small of her back and she though herself at him, hugging tightly against her, the tears she was holding rolling down her cheeks.

Gibbs didn't say anything for a moment and she let her cry and held her against him. After a moment, the woman he was holding in his arms started to speak.

"It's horrible."

"What is?"

"P, just call me, you know my friend from the Behavioral Analysis Unit."

"Yes. What did she say?" He asked her softly.

Abigail shifted a bit in his arms before pulling away just enough from him in order to look him in the eyes.

She doesn't anything on Dawn yet, though she things she might have an idea how to find her. "That's good news. Why are you crying?"

"Johnston."

The moment the name was out of her mouth, Abby felt Gibbs' body tense.

"What has that bastard done again?"

"He's a suspect in three murder cases so far... but that's not the worst..." He voice trailed off, and she took a few deep breaths.

Now Gibbs felt uneasy.

"The victims in the murder cases have similarities..." She said as she pushed herself away from him. And walked toward her main computer hitting a few keys to make something appear on the screen.

Three pictures popped up on the screen, Abby then made another one pop up, a bigger one. When he saw the last picture, Gibbs' blood ran cold in his veins.

The three women had the same morphological characteristics as Dawn Wilkerson.

"Tell me this is not happening." Gibbs said to the forensic scientist.

"I wish I could, Gibbs, I wish I could."

Could it be that Dawn was in danger, because of Johnston? Or were they making things up? Gibbs suddenly wished that he would have killed the guy while he had a chance, instead of that he had listen to Dawn who had told him that dead would have a too soft punishment for him. Of course at that moment she couldn't have known that that morons would be on free foot.

Gibbs' cell phone rang then. As he saw the caller ID, he flipped open in cell phone.

"Yes, Angie."

["She called me. Dawn called me, she's fine, she's in Europe, but she didn't say anything more."]

"Okay, thanks, Angela, see you tonight."

Gibbs wasn't sure why, but he still wanted to see Angela and talk about Dawn. Not five minutes later did Abby's phone rang. From what he could get from Abby's conversation Penelope at found Dawn. When Abby's phone call with P ended she seemed relieved, but still worried.

When Abby looked back at Gibbs he knew that he had to talk to her outside, they both needed some fresh air. When they existed the lab, Abby and Gibbs were walking side by side, she wanted nothing more than to be in arms again, but if she did it now she knew she wouldn't want to let go. Gibbs' arms were the only place she felt safe and even more now.

Abby reached for his hand when they were in the elevator, but no words were exchanged.

When the elevator doors opened Gibbs told Abby to go ahead, she nodded her hand she headed for the exit of the building while he head back to Ziva and McGee. Tim was smart enough not to say anything this time and stayed safely hidden behind his computer.

McGee heard his boss talk to Ziva but he couldn't make out what was being said between them. About five minutes later, his colleague and friend came to stand near him, and felt her hand meet the back of his head.

"Ouch, what was that for?"

"Next time when Gibbs says something about Tony, just shut up."

"I wasn't lying it is unfair, Ziva."

"Maybe so, but you should know by now that Gibbs wouldn't done so if there wasn't a good reason for it."

Abby was leaning against the building as Gibbs came out. They walked in silence for a long moment before her lips separated to talk. "Dawn is in Berlin, apparently she has an apartment there..."

"What?" Gibbs asked her, surprised.

"I didn't know anything about either. Apparently, it's sort of a retreat for her to go when she is in need to be feeling safe. Do you think she know about our guy?"

"Nah, according to Garcia information she's there for quite awhile already, actually since about she broke up with Tony. You know she's a lot like you, when things go rough on her, she keeps everything inside and she leaves. Does something familiar?"

Jethro Gibbs smirked. I couldn't deny it, he had done the same thing. However, he had left only once, most of the time when something wasn't going well, he ended up in his basement with of only companions, wood, a bottle of whiskey and an old television.

"No. Do you know someone who acts like that?"

Abby features became serious again and stopped walking; they were back at the coffee shop. "I'll go order us some coffee, you wait here are do you want to come inside so we can sit at a table?"

"I'll wait here." was her response.

When he came back outside, he handed her the coffee and they started walking again, Abby took a sip for her coffee closing her eyes as she enjoyed the sensation of out liquid rolling down her throat.

As he opened her eyes, again she asked him "Do you think it's possible that she might not know what's going on?"

After he took a good gulp from his coffee, Gibbs answered. "If she really used her apartment in Germany as a retreat, yes, it's possible that she wouldn't know anything about what is going on. You just cut yourself from the world, no television, no newspaper, no radio and probably no computer, unless, she would use it to write, but even then, she probably wouldn't use the Internet."

"Isn't that a bit extreme?"

Gibbs smiled at her words. "It might look so for a lot of people, but believe me it works wonders."

Abby's phone let its presents known then. Reaching for it, in her one of jacket pockets, she flipped it open without looking to the caller ID.

"Hey, Abby." A familiar voice greeted her.

"Oh my God, Dawn. Are you alright?"

Gibbs stopped walking and faced Abby as she did the same and smiled at her.

["I'm fine. I'm sorry for not calling before, but I guess Tony must have told you the reason."]

"He did yes, but only recently. He misses you."

["I miss him too; do you think it would be okay if I call him?"]

"He would love it, but why don't you come back to D.C. and talk to him."

["I'm scared, what if he doesn't want to see me?"]

"I rather think, he want anything more, right now. Are you still in Berlin?"

["No, I'm in D.C., actually."]

"WHAT? Where are you in D.C.?"

["Behind you."]

Abby turned around abruptly, looking for then, and it didn't take long for her to spot the woman in the wheelchair.

Gibbs looked in the same direction wondering why his forensic scientist had turned so abruptly and when he realized why he could help but smile. All the hurt he had felt vanished as he saw Dawn as he was relieved to see her safe and sound.

Abby dashed toward her to give her one of her trademarks hugs. Dawn laughed through her tears when she hugged Gibbs favorite girl.

When she pulled back to looked at the woman sitting in a wheelchair, she told her: "You gave a quite a scare missy. Next time you want to run away tell us will ya."

"What's the point of running away then?"

"None. Because, you don't run away from your friends." Abby told her as she hugged her again.

Neither of the women noticed Leroy Jethro Gibbs as he reached for his cell phone. DiNozzo picked up almost immediately. His boss told him to meet them at the coffee shop to pick up some fresh air and, purposefully avoided the fact that someone had joined them.

When the conversation ended Gibbs had a smile on his face next thing he did was to walk toward the two women who were still discussing with one another.

"Can this man have a hug too?" Gibbs asked, as he was close enough to both women.

Dawn looked at Gibbs and smiled brightly "Sure you can."

Abby pulled away and witnessed as the two of them shared a tight hug. Everything was coming back into place again were Abby's thoughts.

Abigail Sciuto felt a hand on her shoulder, before a familiar voice asked her whom Gibbs was hugging.

Abby was about to answer when, Gibbs shifted enough for his agent to see. Tony's voice was right above a whisper "Oh my God... Dawn"

When Gibbs pulled away from her, the words vanished from around her, all saw was the man she was so much in love with standing a few meters away from her, her eyes started shining, as they were suddenly full of unshed tears.

Tony slowly let go of Abby and walked toward Dawn, his eyes watering, he didn't see his boss walk back toward Abby, he didn't see where the coffee shop was, he couldn't see his surrounding anymore, all he saw was the woman he loved. She was finally back.

When he was close enough he dropped to his knees, took her face in both his hands, and looked intently at her.

"I love you. I missed you so much, sweetheart. Don't you ever do this to me again, you hear me? I'm worthless without you. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe. I could never think less of you. You are the woman I love. You're not a failure and will never be. Not to me, not to anyone else. While you were gone all I did was survive."

Dawn wondered briefly how he could know what she'd been thinking all this time and realized how fooling she'd been. She should have trusted Tony, she should have trusted him to understand her, and the most important thing of all she should have trusted their love. What they had and still have is anything but a fling. They're for real. She knew it now.

"I love you, Anthony DiNozzo." She said, before closing her eyes when she felt his lips on her forehead, then her nose, next he was kissing his cheeks to kiss her tears away slowly, softly. then finally... finally Tony's lips were on hers.

Their lips were tentative at first both scared, but one their mouths were joined the kiss deepened the kiss full was full emotion, apologies and promises of a future together.

From a distance Gibbs and Abby stood watching the reunion of two of the most important persons in their lives.

"I don't know about you, but seeing them kiss like that, make me want to do the same." Gibbs told Abby.

She turned herself fully toward him and slid her arms around his neck. "Excuse me? Are you getting mushy on me Gibbs?"

He smirked and answered "No, I just want to show you that I love you."

Gibbs leaned in to kiss her, but his favorite girls stopped him, pulling away slightly. "Will you show me how much you love my body too when we get home?"

Gibbs smiled wickedly at her then and told her. "You can count on it my little squint."

He leaned in further and captured her lips.

Everyone was happy again at least for now.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU FOR READING!


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